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A Canadian hospital sent letters recently to nearly 2,500
colposcopy patients to notify them that they might be at risk for HIV and other
infections. The Miramichi Regional Hospital in New Brunswick informed women who
underwent colposcopy treatments at its facilities between May 1999 and May 2013
that they should be tested for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C because staff
did not always apply sterilization measures on forceps used during the
procedures.
A colposcopy is a procedure used to examine a vagina and
cervix in response to abnormal Pap test results. If a healthcare provider notes
a problem, they will take a biopsy of tissue, using forceps, for further
testing.
According to officials, staff sterilized medical instruments
thoroughly every night, but if the clinic had an abundance of patients during a
day, staff sometimes instead would clean forceps with a high-level disinfection
process, which “destroys 99.99 percent of blood-borne pathogens such as
hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.” Dr. Gordon Dow, an infectious disease
specialist at the hospital, emphasized, however, that the risk of infection is
"very, very small," and said a review of medical literature could
find no cases where high-level disinfection caused the transmission of any of
the viral infections.
An employee identified the problem in May 2013 and the
hospital changed procedures immediately. John McGarry, president of Horizon
Health Network, said they waited three months to disclose the findings so they
could assess the risk and receive advice from experts. "Again, while I
firmly believe that disclosing this information is the right thing to do, I
cannot underscore strongly enough that the risk of infection to any of our
patients is extremely low," he said, and added "I, on behalf of everyone
at Horizon, apologize for this error and the resulting apprehension this news
may cause our patients."
